Serafino De Tivoli (March 18261892) was an Italian painter of the

Macchiaioli The Macchiaioli () were a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century. They strayed from antiquated conventions taught by the Italian art academies, and did much of their painting outdoors in order to ...

group.

Biography

Serafino de Tivoli - A Pasture - WGA22726

He was born in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

. After initial study of literature at a religious private school in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, he began his artistic training under Carlo Markò the Elder. He met

Vito D'Ancona Vito D'Ancona (August 12, 1825January 9, 1884) was an Italian painter of the Macchiaioli group. He was born in Pesaro to a wealthy Jewish family. He began his artistic training in Florence, and in 1844 was admitted to the Accademia di Belle Ar ...

during the mid-1840s, and joined him in painting landscapes ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

''. In 1848 he fought as a Tuscan volunteer for

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...

in the

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

. In 1855 his paintings, exhibited at the Florentine Promotrice exhibition, brought him to the attention of the artists who frequented the

Caffè Michelangiolo Caffè Michelangiolo was a historic café in Florence, located in Via Larga (now renamed Via Cavour). During the nineteenth century Wars of Italian Independence, it became a major meeting place for Tuscan writers and artists, and for patriots and ...

in Florence (including those who would later become known as the Macchiaioli). In that same year he traveled to Paris, where he was greatly impressed by the paintings of the

Barbizon school The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name ...

. He saw in their realism and powerful

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

a means of renewing art in the modern age. Upon his return to Florence he conveyed this new enthusiasm to his friends, who quickly adopted his ideas. In recognition of the influence he had on his fellow Florentine artists,

Telemaco Signorini Telemaco Signorini (; August 18, 1835 – February 10, 1901) was an Italian artist who belonged to the group known as the Macchiaioli. Biography He was born in the Santa Croce quarter of Florence, and showed an early inclination toward the st ...

called him "the father of the ''macchia''".Steingräber, E., & Matteucci, G. 1984, p. 112. De Tivoli made additional visits to Paris, and in 1863 he exhibited in the

Salon des Refusés The Salon des Refusés, French for "exhibition of rejects" (), is generally known as an exhibition of works rejected by the jury of the official Paris Salon, but the term is most famously used to refer to the Salon des Refusés of 1863. Today, b ...

. In 1873 he moved to Paris, where he met such artists as

Tissot Tissot SA () is a Swiss watchmaker. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853. After several mergers and name changes, the group which Tissot SA belonged to was renam ...

and

Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). H ...

, and became a friend of

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is espec ...

. He returned to Florence in 1890, where he lived in relative isolation until his death in 1892.

Notes

References

* Broude, Norma (1987). ''The Macchiaioli: Italian Painters of the Nineteenth Century''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. *Steingräber, E., & Matteucci, G. (1984). ''The Macchiaioli: Tuscan Painters of the Sunlight : March 14-April 20, 1984''. New York: Stair Sainty Matthiesen in association with Matthiesen, London. 1826 births 1892 deaths People from Livorno Livornese Jews 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 19th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-painter-19thC-stub